Recommendations of the Editorial team
John Lithgow has seriously considered exiting the upcoming HBO Max series “Harry Potter,” in which he is set to play Albus Dumbledore, sparked by public criticism of author JK Rowling’s transphobic comments. Ultimately he decided against it, as he did New York Times recently told, and accepted the fact that “in every interview, that I will give for the rest of my life will come up.”
Lithgow emphasized in the conversation that he did not share the views of Rowling – a woman he has never met. He sees the series itself as “clearly on the side of the good, against intolerance and bigotry”.
In April, Lithgow said he couldn’t understand why he was facing backlash for accepting the role of Dumbledore. A friend of his, whose daughter is trans, sent him an open letter asking him to withdraw from the series. “I asked myself: Why does this even matter?” he told the British Times. “I wonder how JK Rowling is processing all this. I suppose I’ll meet her at some point – and I’m looking forward to the conversation.”
Lithgow’s last major chapter
At that time, he said, he was now 80 years old and was thinking intensively about himself – because Dumbledore was “probably the last big role” he would play. “It’s an eight-year commitment, so I thought a lot about mortality – and how this is a very good role to close the chapter,” he said at the time.
The series, which Rowling will executive produce, is scheduled to premiere in 2027. HBO is planning seven seasons. Given the backlash, HBO editor-in-chief Casey Bloys felt compelled to defend the series’ content in a podcast. “It’s pretty clear that these are her personal, political views,” Bloys said in May. “She’s entitled to them. Nothing is secretly infiltrated into Harry Potter. And anyone who wants to argue with her can do so on Twitter.”
In recent years, Rowling has alienated both the public and former “Potter” cast members with her uncompromising stance towards trans people. Pedro Pascal described her financial connection to a For Women Scotland campaign as “awful disgusting SHIT”. Daniel Radcliffe, who played Potter in the films, said Rowling’s rhetoric made him “really sad”. Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the films, said a conversation with Rowling about her beliefs was “never possible.” And Keira Knightley, who was hired for an audio book edition of the “Harry Potter” books, said she was unaware of Rowling’s views and appealed for everyone involved to treat each other with respect.
